The present invention is directed to a protective collar used in certain athletic games, especially American football, to reduce the risk of neck injury to the user and, in particular, to such a collar that is adjustable and protects the wearer both with respect to rearward and sideways blows to the head.
Dangerous neck injuries are always a possibility to athletes engaged in contact sports. American football players are especially prone to neck injuries, because the head is often pushed rearwardly or sideways by impacts or blows, especially tackling, that overextend the neck with substantial force and may cause injury to the cervical vertebrae, ligaments, muscles, nerves and most importantly the spinal cord.
Various collars are currently in use to help prevent such neck injuries. One such collar was invented by Fair and is illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,996,720 and 4,821,339. The purpose of the Fair collars are to cushion and absorb energy from blows to the head, especially that drive the head rearwardly.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a collar that allows improved function over that of the Fair collars and other prior art devices. In particular, the Fair collars attach directly to a supporting vest entirely along the underside of each collar.
Direct attachment prevents adjustment of the tilt of the collar relative to the vest. It has been found that certain players, such as linemen who must play in a "down" position with at least one hand on the ground prior to start of a play, prefer to be able to bring their heads further rearward to be able to see their opponents better, as compared to other players who start in a standing stance, such as football linebackers. Preferably, a player can somewhat easily adjust the collar, even during breaks in play, to provide the most comfortable support for the player, without the player having to remove the entire apparatus.
Furthermore, the prior art devices of Fair connect the foam that forms the protective collar directly to the vest across the entire bottom of the collar. Such direct collar to vest connection tends to be weak and it wears heavily, so that such collars tend to wear out comparatively quickly.
Another problem associated with the prior art collars results from the direct connection of the vest to the collar along the entire underside of the collar. In particular, when the athlete wearing this device receives a blow to the torso, the vest often rides upwardly on the body. This in turn causes the vest to push against the collar which may jam the collar against or beneath the player's helmet or position the collar such that it causes more harm than good, especially if the player is delivered a second blow to the head. Therefore, it is desirable that the apparatus be constructed so that the vest holds the collar in position when forces are applied to the collar, but also that the vest does not displace or jam the collar, when upward forces are applied to the vest.
Many of the prior art collars, such as Fair, are designed to cushion blows, but not significantly limit range of movement. In order to protect persons having hyperextension with or without side flexion that cause injuries often referred to as burners, it is necessary to limit range of motion. Limitation of the range of motion of the head and neck is often helpful to persons that are susceptible to such injuries or who are otherwise at risk of such injuries.
Finally, it has been found that it is important for the helmet of football players to be received in a cradle or pocket that absorbs lateral side flexion, extension and twisting forces on the head and neck and thereby reduces the likelihood of injury due to blows to the side of the head. The present invention allows the support collar to be position adjusted while still also providing a cradle for the helmet.